Lighting Displays Can Be a Nuisance for Neighbors

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Huge Christmas lighting displays might be a treat for holiday visitors in communities around the region, but they can be a nightmare for neighbors who aren't thrilled by strangers traipsing across their lawns and blocking their driveways.

One Springfield, Mo., woman has complained to local officials about a massive display about half a mile from her house that causes streets to clog up and impatient drivers to create dangerous situations. The city has said it would look into her complaint, but noted there's nothing illegal about the display.

In Prairie Village, Kan., neighborhood complaints prompted the City Council to issue new regulations that essentially priced a man known as "Mr. Christmas" to unplug a display that started 44 years ago and move it across the state line into Missouri.